just outside the path, but many people were
likely to drop by for a visit before or afterward.
Another big unknown, apart from the weather,
was the size of the crowds. “My guess is that
they’ll come by the thousands, from all over the US
and other parts of the world,” said Randy Holst,
president of the Boise Astronomical Society in
Idaho. Congestion was a real concern: most of the
highways in the Northwest, especially those in the
mountains, are two-lane, winding roads. And as
Holst and others point out, this part of the country
is famous for its natural beauty and is often packed
with tourists in August, even when there isn’t an
eclipse. But remember, this is an eclipse that you
could, at least in theory, drive to.
Farther east, the population density is greater,
which means that millions of Americans were
able to see the eclipse from their backyards. Don
Ficken, who heads the Eclipse Task Force for
the greater St Louis area in Missouri, said “this is
a historic event.” In Columbia, Missouri, 50,000
people were expected to gather at a public event
at the city’s football stadium; meanwhile, theairport in St Joseph, in the northwest of the
state, hosted up to 60,000 people at an eclipse-
viewing event.
But what if you missed this particular eclipse?
The next total solar eclipse you could go and
witness will happen on 2 July 2019 – the path of
totality passes through Chile and Argentina. The
next one visible from the US comes on 8 April 2024.
As solar eclipses go, this one was fairly
accessible and the weather prospects in many
locations were reasonably good. As far as
witnessing the next one goes, as Jay
Anderson, a meteorologist and avid eclipse
chaser puts it, “You only go around once. So
do it while you can.” ßABOVE: Traf fic gets busy at
prime eclipse spots, so leave
plenty of time for journeys “You only go aroundonce. So do it while
you can.”
PHOTOS: ALAMY X2